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62 Birthdays. Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s child has far to go, Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturday’s child works hard for its living, And the child that is born on Sabbath day Is good and great, fair and gay, Written for Burke’s Weekly. JACK DOBELL; Or, A Boys Adventures in Texas. A STORY FOR BOYS. CHAPTER 11. THE TEXAN COAST—AMONG THE BREAKERS AT VELASCO-MUSTERED INTO SERVICE-A NA VAL ENGAGEMENT—CRUIZING—A MAN LOST. IST the morning of the seventh day after leav- South-West Pass,the dimly discernible from *he h> ea< d, looking like a long low cloud upon the western hori- JY* zon. The wind was dead ahead, and it took us nearly the whole day to beat up within sight of the beach, and the few miserable shanties that at that time constituted the city of Yelasco. Finding it impossible to cross the bar with the wind ahead, we cast anchor out side, hoping for a favorable change in the morning. But in the morning the wind was from the same old quarter, and, tired out with our confinement aboard of the vessel, a dozen or more of us manned the long boat, resolved upon effecting a land ing in spite of wind and weather. But in this we “reckoned without our host,'’ for we missed the channel and got into the breakers, which came very near swamping our boat, and from which we were glad to make our escape back again to the vessel. Two years subsequently, I saw a boat capsized amongst those same breakers, and although in full view of hundreds of people on shore, every soul but one on board of her perished before assistance could be rendered them. A short time after our return to the schooner, to our great joy the wind haul ed around to the eastward, which enabled us to cross the bar, and soon we were safely anchored in the mouth of the Bra zos river. I must confess I was not much pleased with the first view I got of the “promised land.” The country around Velasco is low and swampy, and back of it a dead level prairie extended as far as the eye could reach. Yelasco itself was a miserable little village, comprising two stores, a hotel , and ten or a dozen grog shops. Opposite to it, on the other bank of the river, was the rival city of Quin tana, containing about the same number B URKE’B WEE KE Y . of shanties, and a mixed population of Yankees, Mexicans and Indians. We landed upon the Quintana side and pitched our camp upon the beach along side of several other companies that had arrived before us. Here we remained some weeks, and as we were liberally supplied by the firm of Messrs. McKinney k Williams with flour and bacon, sugar and coffee, and game and fish w r ere to be had in abundance, we fared “ sumptuous ly every day,” though not “ clothed in purple and fine linen.” In hunting and fishing, making tents, cleaning up our arms, and in preparing in other ways for our anticipated campaign, our time pass ed pleasantly enough. Whilst here, we were formally muster ed into the service of the “Republic of Texas.” It was left optional with us to enlist for twelve months or for the dura tion of the war, and we unanimously chose the latter alternative, upon the principle, I suppose, of “in for a penny, in for a pound,” or, as Davy Crockett would have expressed it, we resolved to “go the whole hog or none.” One day, whilst lying here, we had quite an exciting scone, which bade fair, for a time, to initiate us at once into the realities of actual warfare. Two vessels were descried in the offing, one of them evidently in hot pursuit of the other. As soon as they had approached near enough to be distinctly seen through a glass, it was asserted by those who pretended to know, that the smaller vessel was the “Invincible,” a schooner lately purchased by the Republic of Texas, and that the larger one, which was the one in chase, was the “Bravo,” a celebrated Mexican privateer. In this opinion we were all confirmed by a brisk cannonading that soon commenced between the pursued and pursuing vessels. Our company being the best organized and armed, was order ed on board of a small steamer lying in the mouth of the Brazos, with instruc tions to hasten to the assistance of the Invincible with as little delay as possible. \\ r e quickly got up steam, and notwith standing the violence of the breakers up on the bar, which, on two occasions, roll ed completely over our little craft, we were soon alongside of the foremost ves sel, which turned out, as we had suppos ed, to be the Invincible. By this time the other vessel had approached sufficiently near to be recognized as one that had also been lately purchased for the Texas navy, and the cannonading ceased. Each, it appears, had mistaken the oth er for the Bravo, and hence the pursuit ol the one and the attempt to escape on the pai tol the Invincible. The Invinci ble had only her sailing crew aboard. So we had to return to camp without haviiw had an opportunity afforded us, as we an anticipated, of “fleshing our maiden swords.” A few days afterwards, our company was ordered on board the Invincible to serve as a sort of marine corps for her protection, until her regular crew could be shipped. Whilst on board of her, we took a cruise along the coast, in hopes of picking up a Mexican prize, as far up as the eastern end of G alveston Island. Here an incident occurred, which, as it shows the great changes that have taken place since the time of which we write, is worth mentioning. We were lying at anchor right off the point of the island where the city of Gal veston now stands, and, as w t c were run ning short of wood and water, a boat was sent ashore for a supply. The former was to be had in any quantity along the beach, and the latter could be obtained, of passable quality, by digging shallow wells at the foot of the sand hills. When the boat was ready to return, it was found that one of the crew was missing. Search was made for him, but he was no where to be seen, and as there was every ap pearance of a Norther coming up, the officer in charge of the boat thought it most prudent to return to the vessel leav ing their missing companion behind.— Scarcely had the boat reached the schoon er when the norther struck us, and we were compelled to hoist anchor and run before it. Th ree days elapsed before we could make our anchorage again, and a boat was sent ashore to search for our lost comrade. At length he was found wandering along the beach, seeking for oysters and crabs, upon which ho had subsisted since leaving the vessel. His mind was sensibly affected by his expo sure to the weather, and his dread of wild beasts and savages, and the appre hension that we had abandoned him to his fate. For several days he talked in a wild and incoherent manner, and some time elapsed before the tone of his mind was entirely restored. For three days this man was the sole occupant of the island, and at the very point where we found him the beautiful city of Galveston now stands, containing a population of 20,000 souls! After cruising several days longer in the vicinity of the island without success, we returned to our old anchorage ground, near Velasco. 4*4 As daylight can be seen through the smallest holes, so the most trifling things show a person’s character.